


Hellbound

by writerposer



Series: A New Kind of Chemistry [2]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Accidental Relationship, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Dom/sub Undertones, M/M, Roy has commitment issues but don't we all, Teacher-Student Relationship, Unsafe Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:01:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27667154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writerposer/pseuds/writerposer
Summary: Professionally, Edward Elric was the best thing that ever happened to Roy. Emotionally well, that's a different story.
Relationships: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang
Series: A New Kind of Chemistry [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2022785
Comments: 8
Kudos: 125





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer, I know 0 things about science I was a humanities major.

Professionally, Edward Elric was the best thing that ever happened to Roy. Sure, he broke half a dozen beakers daily, either through carelessness or random bouts of rage (Accidents were never due to clumsiness-- Edward had the reflexes of a some yet undiscovered jungle cat). Edward also terrified Roy’s undergraduate students-- three quarters of the students who had been in his discussion section tried to transfer to the other TA (the remaining quarter changed majors). Edward also had choice words for anyone in a suit who even dared look over his shoulder (and when Roy pointed out that Edward might not want to call the President of the University a “mouth breathing imbecile” the man rolled his eyes and called Roy something much worse). But the man was a goddamn genius. After they published their first paper on abiogenesis, donors were falling over themselves to put their dollars behind the two crazy scientists in the middle of Switzerland. Scientific American picked up their findings, and now some were even calling Edward an alchemist, for his ability to somehow make something from nothing. 

“Bullshit, that’s not what alchemy is,” Ed rolled his eyes while flipping through the article.

Roy glanced over at Ed, who seemed to have become a permanent fixture on his couch, before returning his attention to the saucepan. 

“And what praytell, would the fictional practice of alchemy be?” Roy asked, lazily stirring the simmering stew. 

“It wouldn’t be something from nothing. Everything comes from something. The matter that we found wasn’t nothing, it came from something. There’s gotta be, like, something for something. You know?”

“Articulate as always,” Roy said, taking their meal off the stove and placing it into the mismatched bowls he’d accumulated during his time in the little apartment. 

Roy absently handed Ed the bowl he knew he preferred, and watched as Ed slurped his soup with one hand as he flipped through the article with the other, demonstrating a haphazard mastery over gravity. Roy’s eyes lingered on where Ed’s shirt rode up, exposing his taut stomach that somehow managed to maintain a tan even in the midst of a brutal Swiss winter. Roy could blame the sight for distracting him so he didn’t notice Ed shoving his ice cold feet underneath Roy’s thighs. 

“Edward.”

Ed ignored him, as he always did, just settling himself in further. Roy resigned himself to becoming a human heater, and turned to his own reading, though it was slower going as Roy actually ate with utensils instead of like a barn animal. Roy had a vague understanding that Ed had grown up on a farm in the states, perhaps he was literally raised in a barn. Roy turned to make a scathing remark to that effect, when he caught Ed mid yawn, the fading light catching the highlights in his hair just so, giving him the appearance of a lost cherub. Roy felt something in him shift. 

“Perhaps, now that the initial paper has been published, we could expand our research to the rest of the lab,” Roy said instead. 

“Hmm,” Ed said, half listening.

“That way, we could focus our work inside the lab, rather than my apartment,” Roy finished carefully. 

Ed’s head whipped up, and Roy could see the anger on his face. Roy steadied himself, ready for the barrage of insults. Instead, he saw Ed deflate. 

“Yeah, I guess I’ve been bothering you for long enough,” Ed said, folding his legs up. He instantly missed the icy toes. 

Roy tried to recover, to say something that didn’t sound like rejection, but the words died in his mouth and soon Ed was out the door, biking back to his dorm, or maybe a bar, or probably back to the lab because they actually did have more things to work through that night. Roy leaned forward and put his head in his hands. 

Maes picked up on the first ring, even though it was well past midnight in DC.

“Roy! My main man, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Maes shouted. 

“I fucked a student.”

“Shit.”

“And I just kicked him out of my apartment.”

“Fuck.”

“I’m going to hell,” Roy groaned, his face in his hands.

“It wasn’t an undergrad was it?” Maes said slowly.

“No, one of my PhD advisees,” Roy said.

“It’s not the scowling genius in this article, is it? Well, at least he’s hot, I get a one night stand and you could-”

“It’s been three months-”

“You’re going to hell,” Maes said with a sigh, “What happened?”

Roy could picture Maes pinching the bridge of his nose, sitting at his desk in his home office, his wife and daughter sleeping peacefully in the next rooms over. A perfect little life, quintessential domestic bliss. Gracia probably cooked extra dinner so that Maes could take it as lunch to the office. Maybe she wrote notes to go with the bag, tucked in just for him. Elicia probably made a mess of herself, she was still developing fine motor control last time Roy visited, and Maes probably cooed and took a million photos, which went straight to the groupchat that Roy had muted on his phone.

Roy recounted the afternoon’s brief conversation.

“So you told him you want to see other scientists,” Maes said. 

“We weren’t dating,” Roy said, maybe too forcefully.

“No, you were just sleeping together for three months, the longest, to my knowledge, that you’ve been with anyone continuously, and knowing what a sap you are you probably looked up, realized you were in a relationship, and panicked. Am I right?” Maes said. 

“I, that’s not what happened. It’s just, it’s inappropriate, and I, it had to stop.”

It was inappropriate. Since their research was the talk of the university, Roy doubted any substantive disciplinary action would follow should their relationship be discovered, but it was technically against the rules, both of the university, and of decorum. Roy was eleven years Edward’s elder, and though it didn’t seem like it, in charge of his academic future. It was fucked up. He should have stopped Edward when he first crawled in his lap, no, he should have stopped when Edward showed up at his door, angry and self righteous, face red from the quick rushed bike ride and excitement. Roy should have stopped Edward at the door of his lab, when he rushed in like a force of nature, Roy couldn’t even stand to look straight at him.

And the sex. Shit. While not all of it was so kinky, Roy definitely leaned into the power dynamic of their relationship. At first, Roy just noticed that Edward liked to be held down. He went limp and needy in this intoxicating way. And sure, some nights, like that first night together, he took charge, telling Roy exactly what he wanted, giving him no choice but to give it to him. But sometimes he just gave it all up and let Roy take care of him, all that anger transformed into passion. Roy was a monster. 

“Call me when you pull your head out of your ass,” Maes sighed, and the line went dead.

Edward Elric was perhaps the worst thing that had ever happened to him.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Ed was late to lab. Roy pretended it was prearranged, and set the rest of the team on their assignments, all either working to replicate Edward’s findings, or to riff and try to expand upon the theory. Though Roy was proud of the people he worked with, privately he didn’t think any of them would be able to substantially add to Ed’s work, which felt like it was in a field of its own. He hesitated to even call it chemistry, it felt like magic. Like alchemy. And now their resident genius was absent. 

Roy fiddled at his station, trying to focus on new samples, though truly he wanted to just avoid Riza’s gaze. As far as Roy knew, she was the only one who knew of his exploits with Ed. And he knew that she knew because she threatened him with a scalpel about jeopardizing their lab and corrupting youth. He was terrified of her, even though she’d only made full professor last year, she was much more capable than him, and more adept with sharp objects. 

As for the rest of the lab, Edward had put far too much stock in their observational abilities. Surely if his Postdoc Havoc suspected that Ed was sleeping with Roy, he’d be less blatant with his flirting. And there’s no way his lab tech Breda would be able to resist the easy jokes at their expense. No, their secret was between Ed, Roy, and Riza, making it the safest it could conceivably be. 

Ed strolled in at 3pm, wearing sunglasses and drinking something that proclaimed to be a “mega gulp” though where he found it on their grass fed campus was beyond Roy. 

“No drinking in lab,” Roy said carefully.

Ed, rolling his eyes, threw out the cup in a perfect arc, the cup and its contents landing with a thud in one of the lab’s trash cans. Ed made his rounds, peaking in on everyone’s set ups, though Roy could see a tenseness in his shoulders. Ed eventually made his way to Roy’s station, and when their eyes met, Roy only saw steel. 

“I need a few days off,” Ed said. 

“For what reason? We’re at a very difficult stage in the run of the experiment,” Roy said. 

“An old friend is coming to visit, I promised I’d spend time with her. Is that a problem?” 

Roy knew he should let him go. Hell, Roy didn’t even think Ed actually had to ask for permission to take time off-- it wasn’t like they let him anywhere near undergrads anymore, so it wasn’t like he had classes to teach, and technically Roy could observe the recreation of the experiments by himself. But Roy was as much of a masochist as he was a sadist.

“Why don’t you bring her with you to the lab tomorrow? I’m sure we’d all love to meet someone from your mysterious past,” Roy said, before returning his attention to the empty slides underneath his microscope. 

“Fine Bastard, if that’s how you want it,” Ed rolled his eyes again, and then, just, sat down next to Roy and started working. Like nothing happened. 

They worked in silence for hours, before Ed stretched and got up, leaving for the day without a backwards glance. Roy watched him leave, before realizing he was the only one left in the room. Roy regretted walking to work that morning, he felt more pathetic with each solitary step on the cold walk home. Roy let himself in, and then realized he didn’t remember to bring any of today’s notes home with him, leaving his evening empty. So Roy drank. And then he drank a little more. And when his clumsy fingers reached for his phone to call Ed and tell him he had made a grave miscalculation, he realized through his stupor that he didn’t even have his phone number. 

If there’s one thing Roy learned from his sisters, it was how to hide a hangover. Roy breezed into the lab as if there wasn’t a small riot occurring just inside his skull. Roy was so focused on maintaining appearances that he almost didn’t notice the pretty blonde girl sitting at his desk. 

“Hello,” Roy said.

The girl sprang up and shook Roy’s hand, all smiles, though her gaze had the same steely look as Edward. Who was nowhere to be found. 

“Winry Rockbell, biomechanical engineer and Ed’s oldest friend.”

“Make yourself at home Ms. Rockbell,” Roy said, choosing not to evict her from his station, if only to save himself from actually attempting work in his state. 

Instead Roy drifted around the lab, correcting work (“Fuery, mix those two compounds and you’ll lose an eyebrow”) and generally trying to fake expertise, though by now everyone knew it was really Ed’s show. The man in question, likely in protest of being made to appear on Roy’s weak attempt at a power play, strolled in fifteen minutes later with two large coffees without so much as looking in Roy’s direction. 

Roy kept working, using a smaller work station, mindful of Riza’s careful gaze upon him (and Edward’s utter lack of attention to him). The day crawled by. Ed and Winry floated in and out of the room, giggling, taking impromptu tours of the campus and returning with more elaborate foodstuffs, loudly bickering before falling back into fits of laughter, until Riza suggested Edward take the afternoon off. As all of Riza’s suggestions were orders, Edward gave the room an affable wave, before strolling off with Winry to god knows where, probably for more giggling. And Roy sat at his desk, wretchedly imagining their afternoon together. Ed had always been cagey about his past, so Roy had no idea if he and Winry had ever been more than just, old friends. Even the glimpses he stole shows their intimacy-- she couldn’t even keep her hands off Ed.

Roy worked until his eyes were bleary, before heading back home. Roy let his mind wander. Maybe this was for the best. It’s what he wanted after all, a healthy distance between him and Edward. The lines were too blurred, and now things were clear. Painfully clear. 

Roy walked up the stairs to his apartment complex, only to find a shivering mass outside his door.

“Edward?”

“Hurry up and open the door, it’s cold as shit out here,” Ed said out of grit teeth. 

Roy did as he was told, though inside his apartment wasn’t much warmer. Ed closed the door behind them as Roy walked carefully to the thermostat, turning up the heat, though Ed’s proximity already left a warm buzzing in Roy’s chest. 

“Winry’s sleeping in my dorm bed, can I crash here?” Ed asked, though his tone didn’t invite rebuttal. 

Roy nodded, and then led the way back to his room, Ed silently following. Ed didn’t push and he didn’t plead. He just strides behind Roy and waits by the bed. There’s a split second hesitation, where Edward’s blustering veneer cracks, but Roy ignores the fear he sees, the fear that probably marred Roy’s face too. Drawn in by his gravity, Roy’s mouth met Ed’s, short, almost chaste kisses transforming into a mess of teeth and tongue. Normally, Roy would at least attempt seduction, but Ed took a step back and was rapidly stripping, so Roy tried to follow his breakneck pace, his slacks catching around his ankles, some buttons refusing to be undone quickly. Ed stripped his sweatshirt off, his hair going wild with static. Roy felt a laugh catch in his throat, which was cut off by Ed’s heated gaze. 

Ed dragged him down onto the bed, his half hard cock rubbing against Roy’s stomach. Taking his cue, Roy slipped halfway down the bed, laying messy kisses across Ed’s torso until reaching Ed’s cock. Roy licked slowly at the head, teasing little brushes that made Ed whine with need. Roy kept up the small gestures until Ed reached full attention-- then he swallowed him in full. Tonight was not for teasing. 

“Fuck!” Ed writhed under him, trying to thrust up.

Roy held him down at his hips, though he knew that the pressure wasn’t strong enough to truly stop Ed from bucking into his mouth. Roy bobbed carefully, tongue wrapping around the velvety shaft, relishing the moans that were growing in intensity. Roy pulled off, reaching for the near empty lube bottle in the bedside drawer. Before he could even reach for a condom, Ed grabbed his wrist. 

“Wanna feel you,” Ed whimpered, and Roy kissed him in assent. 

As a scientist, Roy knew that STI’s could be life changing occurrences. But as a man he knew he could never deny Ed. Though, frankly Roy didn’t know when Ed would even have had the time to fuck someone else. Roy certainly didn’t, he spent all his time in the lab, or in Ed. As Roy slipped the first finger in, Roy let his mind wander, and imagined keeping Ed to himself, locked in his apartment, living only for sex and science. Roy worked another finger in, and realized that wasn’t too different than their current situation. 

“Hurry up and fuck me,” Ed bit out. 

Roy just hummed in response, though he returned his attention to Ed’s dick, which was red and weeping against his stomach, swallowing the head as he worked a third finger into Ed’s tight heat. 

“I’m ready Bastard, you do this every time, just-”

Roy pushed in slowly, grunting softly until he was fully seated. While Ed adjusted, Roy leaned down to suck on his neck, just below the hinge of his jaw. Ed sighed, and then wiggled his hips. Roy hooked his hands under Ed’s thighs, pulling them up to his torso as he thrust in. Ed’s eyes rolled in the back of his head, and Roy couldn’t decide if he wanted to keep his eyes on where he was entering Ed again and again, or on the man’s blissed out face. 

“You think you can come like this?” Roy grunted. 

Ed murmured incoherently, focusing on the sensation of Roy inside him. The question was rhetorical-- Roy had brought him off hands free half a dozen times. 

“I asked you a question Mr. Elric, please answer,” Roy said, trying to keep the steady tone he knew drove Ed insane. 

Ed lets out a contented sigh, that turns into a sharp groan after Roy nails his prostate on a particularly vigorous thrust, switching up his rhythm. 

“I asked, are you going to be a good boy?” Roy asked.

“Yes,” Ed hissed.

“I can’t hear you, what did you say?” Roy asked.

Ed opened his mouth to answer, but could only let out another cry as he came all over himself, head tilted back in ecstasy. Ed collapsed onto the mattress, but Roy pressed him down further by his shoulders, fucking into him with abandon until he filled Ed to the brim. Roy carefully pulled out, pressing one thumb to Ed’s entrance to watch the aftermath drip down. 

“Fuck,” Ed said. 

Roy didn’t respond, just leaned down and captured Edward’s mouth again, though he was too tired to remain upright for long, and lowered himself back onto the mattress, drawing Ed’s sticky body close to his. 

Edward would never truly be his. Who would want to be? But if Roy could give him what he craved, then maybe he’d get to hold onto the Sun for just a little longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who commented on part 1! I have a few ideas to keep going (not gonna leave the boys here I promise !!)


End file.
